US imposes ban on flavoured e-cigarettes

A good example here of how a ban can impact on demand for a product but also lead to some possible unintended consequences.

The USA has introduced a nation-wide ban on flavoured e-cigarettes because of fears that they are leading to addictive behaviours especially among teens.

The US Food and Drug Administration is banning the sale of fruit and sweet e-cigarette pod flavours, and allowing tobacco and menthol flavours stay on the market. In some countries, such as India, sales of e-cigarettes have already been banned.

The USA also recently raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) to 21 years. Survey data published in 2018 found that teenagers in the USA were more likely to be use e-cigarettes than normal cigarettes.

In the UK, four vaping companies, including British American Tobacco (BAT), have had Instagram posts promoting e-cigarettes banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).